2016 Turkish coup attempt

The 2016 Turkish coup attempt occurred on 15-16 July 2016 when factions of the Turkish Army under generals Akin Ozturk and Muharrem Bose attempted to form a "Peace at Home Council" to restore democracy to Turkey and overthrow Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party dictatorship. 104 mutineers and 63 government troops and policemen were killed, while 145 civilians were killed; 7,543 people were arrested when the coup was quelled.

Erdogan's rise to power
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party were democratically elected to power on 14 March 2003, and he served as Prime Minister of Turkey for eleven years before being elected President. His party has been called many names, including "Islamist" and neo-Ottoman. The Turkish government censored the press and even banned Wikipedia and other websites at times, and the state controlled the media. Erdogan sought to gain Turkish membership in the European Union and to curb the power of the military. It would have been impossible for any one politician to do this, had it not been for the popular cleric Fethullah Gulen's support for Erdogan's vision of a modern Turkish state being established by 2023.

Government scandals
However, the government's corruption scandals and Erdogan's advocacy for executive presidency (which would give him more power) led to Gulen and his followers criticizing the government, and he was forced to go into exile in the United States to escape assassination or imprisonment. Erdogan repeatedly breached the constitution, not maintaining political neutrality, building the lavish Ak Saray presidential palace atop the Ataturk Forest Farm and Zoo, and supplying arms to the Free Syrian Army in Syria. Critics of the government were usually imprisoned or censored, and the government was criticized for allowing several security breaches in 2016, allowing for several major terrorist attacks to be committed by July 2016, with the Islamic State attacking Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebelling due to ceasefire infractions. Eventually, the military of Turkey - allegedly backed by the United States and the West - decided to rise up against Erdogan and retake power from the government.

Start of the coup
At 11:00 PM on 15 July 2016, Turkish Air Force jets were witnessed flying over Ankara, heralding the start of the coup. The Turkish Army attempted to quickly take control of the government, closing the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges to Europe as well as the Istanbul Ataturk Airport and other transportation centers. The military shut down Twitter and social media, and they attempted to capture the high command. Turkish Land Forces commander Salih Zeki Colak was arrested upon his arrival at military headquarters, where Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar had already been taken hostage. In addition, Turkish Air Force commander Abidin Unal was abducted from a wedding in Istanbul by helicopter troops. The coupists attempted to force Akar to sign the coup declaration while strangling him with a belt, and he was taken to Akinci Airbase with other hostages after he refused. At 11:50 PM, the famous Taksim Square in Istanbul was occupied by the Turkish Army.

Coup declaration


By 12:00 AM on 16 July, the special forces and police headquarters in Ankara had been bombed by the army helicopters, killing 42 and wounding 43. At 12:02 AM, the military took over broadcast stations, and Turkish Television and Radio Corporation anchor Tijen Karas was made to read the coup delcaration, and she read that the Peace at Home Council was now in charge of Turkey, and that it would restore the country to democracy. The army then declared that it would draft a new constitution, although its foreign agreements would remain in place after the coup.

Counter-coup
At 1:00 AM, President Erdogan used FaceTime to communicate with CNN Turk, asking his supporters to defy the military curfew and rise up against the military. Mayor of Ankara Melih Gokcek echoed this command to the people of Ankara, and the Turkish First Army's loyal elements stormed the TRT broadcasting headquarters with the help of civilians, killing four soldiers. Protesters on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul were shot at by the military, and tank battles took place at the Ataturk Airport and Ak Saray presidential palace.

Last embers
At 3:12 AM, Prime Minister Binali Yildrim announced that a no-fly zone was in place across the country, and the military desperately bombed the Turkish Parliament several times. At 4:00 AM, helicopters attacked the hotel in Marmaris where Erdogan had recently been staying, and fifteen armed men landed and killed two policemen, injuring eight. Erdogan was able to land at Istanbul around the same time, and at 6:30 AM he spoke to his supporters at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. He claimed that Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the coup, and he claimed that Colonel Muharrem Kose was the coup mastermind. At 8:00 AM, a skirmish took place at the army headquarters as the government loyalists from the army rescued General Akar, who had been temporarily replaced by Umit Dundar as Chief of the General Staff during his time as a hostage. Soon, the 50 soldiers blocking to Bosphorus Bridge surrendered to the Turkish Army, and the army headquarters was recaptured along with 700 unarmed soldiers and 150 armed soldiers. The coup ended in failure,